5 Must-Reads: If Payments Could Talk

5 Must-Reads: If Payments Could Talk

With all the recent talk about invisible payments, maybe it’s time to consider the alternative – namely, the branding benefits of giving the payments experience some personality. This week, Zelle’s TV campaign lends a quirky vibe to the newly-launched payment app. Voice-activated assistants and shopping begin their Black Mirror-esque takeover of retail and home. And some big names in financial services consider the value of sensory branding and AI.

Zelle is not playing around when it comes to attracting customers. TV ads featuring Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs learning about Zelle from a sassy grandma, a talking deer and a grillmaster debuted during NFL playoffs – and will continue to air in high-profile spots such as the Grammy Awards, NBA All-Star Game and Super Bowl pre-game show.

Is Alexa doing what our spouses and families could not? An Accenture survey of 21,000 consumers in 19 countries found that 66 percent of people who own a digital voice assistant used their smartphones less at home since installing the device.

Visa is exploring “sensory branding” services that use sound, animation and haptic cues to let cardholders know when digital and in-store payments are completed, according to a press release. About four out of five consumers said they would have a more positive perception of merchants that used either sound or animation cues in a transaction, according to a 2017 study by IPG Lab. Visa is also testing sensory branding the Winter Olympic games.

Your request is their command: Voice-activated “click and collect” tools at retailers like Kroger, Stop & Shop and Amazon let you fill your cart online, pay, then roll up and load your haul into your car. Are digital and data defining more and more of our lives?

TD Bank – Canada’s largest bank by assets and North America’s sixth largest by branches – is making some significant inroads with AI. Its recent acquisition of Level 6 AI is part of an overall AI strategy that includes collaborating with Amazon on Alexa’s new banking skills and offering Canada’s first chatbot on Twitter.